At long last, COP26 is finally here. Tomorrow, the world’s largest eco-jamboree will begin in Glasgow, with some 20,000 to 25,000 delegates expected to attend. For Alok Sharma et al, it must have felt at times that the ‘last chance’ to save the Earth was being damned by the gods themselves, with strikes, pestilence and vermin all plaguing the rat-infested city in recent months.
And there was one last biblical surprise for long-suffering civil servants yesterday: torrential rain in north west England and Scotland forced the cancellation of all trains from London to Glasgow. This prompted the latest eco-quandary for attendees: should they fly there instead?
Ministers have been advised against taking the plane in order to set an eco-friendly example but some of their desperate Whitehall underlings were seriously considering it last night. The Euston-Glasgow route has been horrendous all week, with three train switches in place of the usual direct route and hour-long delays each way.
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